As we continue through the book of Malachi, we find the heavy words that God speaks to Israel through His prophet. Today we will start in Malachi 1:6 and learn that God was not happy with the priests of His temple. They were doing things that were not as God had commanded. But their attitude was worse than that. They had become tired of doing “God’s things.” Have you ever become tired of doing what God has asked you to do? In short, do you ever grow weary of doing the right thing?
Let’s listen in on God’s correction of the priests and learn how He might correct us.
In verses 6-8 we are told that the priests were dishonoring God in their activities. It is easy to slip into such dishonoring practices when we are working for God because He is not physically present. Unlike a boss, a judge, the President, etc…God can take last place in our mind. We can end up working harder to please people than we do God.
The priests main area of dishonor was that they were sacrificing unworthy animals. The Law prescribed that the lambs, bulls, doves, goats, etc…all be perfect and without blemish. People were bringing animals or purchasing animals that were not perfect and the priests were letting this go on. It was as if they were more concerned about the “big” law (i.e. sacrifice an animal) than they were about all the “little” detail laws. They kept up the form of what God said without keeping the heart of it.
Now God reminds them that in their prayers and in their public statements they refer to Him as their Father and Master. If that were true they wouldn’t be serving in such a lackadaisical fashion. They were in truth indifferent sons and rebellious servants. This was dishonoring God.
The attitude of their hearts was this: “What way have we despised Your Name?” Though they may never have said this out loud, through the prophet God is exposing their heart response to the message. What’s the big deal? Were doing what we have always done (business as usual)! The way compromise works is that we make slight, little changes that don’t seem like much. But, over time, they amount to a great difference. Similar to the Frog in a Kettle analogy, their compromises had built up to a point to where they weren’t even convicted when their sin was pointed out. They rather seem to be offended that they are being questioned. Whether we are involved in church ministry or doing any duty that God gives us, such as parenting, we can grow indifferent to the task that God has given us. Our choices can tend to become about what we want and not about what the right thing is. What does God want us to do?
What we do for God should be taken seriously. These priests were generally offering what the people were bringing. So the priests are not the only people with this problem. However, if they took their position seriously they would have corrected the people and refused to offer unworthy animals. Because they weren’t taking the job seriously it poisoned their heart towards the job. They began to complain about God’s stuff and looked for ways to cut corners. This is how they were dishonoring Him.
Ask yourself today, am I offering God defiled sacrifices in my duties for Him? This can be in our family, or as a citizen of this country, as an employee, or as a member of the Church. In verse 8 God lays down this challenge. “Serve your governor like me and you might get a clue how I feel.” If I did my taxes like I serve the Lord, what would happen during an audit? Putting aside government corruption, God’s point is that they take feeding their Governor more seriously than they do serving Him.
Now I am going to skip ahead to verse 12 because the prophet says some more about their dishonor of God there. Our sin causes us to grow weary with God and His ways. Now a rebellious son can use the faults of an earthly father to justify their dishonoring actions and a rebellious employee can use the faults of his boss to justify dishonor. Likewise a citizen can use the faults of a government to justify dishonor. Yet, all these do not explain our desire to go our own way from God because He is perfect and without fault. Thus we need to take serious the self-justifications that we raise both against God and against men.
Now let’s go back to verses 9-10. The prophet reminds them that they are pleading and praying for God’s grace on behalf of the nation and individuals at the same time they are dishonoring Him. This introduces the problem of Grace versus Works. You see that God pours out His grace upon us. But if we take it for granted we will come to a point where he forces us to face our sin. We can’t continue to sin and expect that God’s grace will continue unabated. It is not that we must work in order to receive grace. But, rather our arrogance must be rebuked. If we are sorry and truly desire to follow God then we will do actions that reflect that. We may not be perfect, but God knows our heart. The hearts of these priests were not repentant. In fact they were hardened and flippant in their response back to God’s rebuke. Praying for God’s favor when we dishonor Him by ignoring His Word will only bring discipline from the Lord. This is true both under the Old Covenant and under the New Covenant. We fool ourselves if we think God will continue to bless us as we pursue sinful ways.
In fact God asks whether there was anyone who would shut the doors to the Temple. Why? He would rather the sacrificial system (that he designed) would not happen than that it be turned into a mockery. If Churches are going to become a place where we dishonor God by ignoring, twisting, or wrongly dividing His Word then God would rather we shut the doors to the church. Can you imagine showing up to church and someone was boarding it up? If the person told you that it was God’s will, you would probably point to some Scriptures about gathering together and you would be partly right. In our sin we can focus only on the system and program. But God is always more concerned about the heart. If we lose the heart of what He is saying then we might as well board up our churches. If our worship is to become a version of American Idol than God would rather we turn it off. If our discipleship is to become the latest self-help psychology then God would rather we quit. It only makes things worse. He is shamed either way. In fact many people disregard Churches today. They do so partly because their own sin causes them to run from rebuke. However, they partly do so because the western Church, as a whole, has not taken God and His stuff seriously.
In verses, 11, and 14b, we see the statement that no matter what God will be great among the nations. You see the future of God’s reputation is sure. He isn’t afraid that our dishonor will somehow hurt Him. The truth is that our dishonor of God hurts us and the people around us. God’s future is sure, but where will I be in the day that God raises up His honor out of the dust? Will I participate in His greatness? That all depends on whether I humble myself before Him and His Word.
Now historically it could be said that God has done this. At the cross and resurrection, Jesus elevated the Name and Honor of God. He took a remnant of Israel and sent them to the nations. Today people everywhere honor and praise the name of the God of Israel. Yet, today we see that the Church has followed the same pattern as Israel. We find ourselves today after decade upon decade of moral compromise with our culture, contemptuously serving the Lord. It is said that familiarity breeds contempt. Thus Malachi mentions that the Name of the Lord is to be feared. If we love Him and obey His words then we need not fear Him. But we ought to always fear dishonoring the Lord. First because it brings times of discipline and second because our hearts can grow so cold that even His discipline finds no leverage within it.
Yes these are heavy words, but difficult times call for such things to be said. Let His Word find leverage in your heart today.